The World Expo in Osaka has reached its halfway point: from 13 April to 13 October, 158 countries and 7 institutions are presenting themselves on the artificial island of Yumeshima.

Every day, Expo 2025 attracts around 110,000 visitors. In the first three months alone, over 11.6 million people have visited, with around 16 million tickets sold so far. Luxembourg is participating with a national pavilion for the 25th time – and it is proving to be a real hit, especially among Japanese visitors, who make up 90% of the audience.

Although most visitors are unfamiliar with the Grand Duchy before arriving, they are quickly won over – particularly by the food. The grilled sausages and potato fritters, made entirely from Japanese ingredients, are a real crowd-pleaser among the Japanese. Many even eat the sausages with chopsticks, as Nancy Braun, director of the Luxembourg pavilion, notes with a smile.

Wine and Picon beer are also well-received, as Alain Hostert, head of catering at the pavilion, explains. Every Sunday, the Luxembourg pavilion hosts an aperitif, with Picon beer proving to be especially popular. “It’s true that Picon isn’t to everyone’s taste,” he admits, “but visitors come to the Expo precisely to discover something new.”

Before sampling the food, visitors can discover Luxembourg in an interactive way – starting in the queue to enter. Along the path, QR codes introduce six of Luxembourg’s monuments: the Gëlle Fra, the Grand Ducal Palace, Melusina, the Koeppchen vineyard in Wormeldange, the Huelen Zant rock formation, and Vianden Castle. Inside, three rooms showcase Luxembourg’s traditions, landscapes, and projects through various multimedia experiences. The concept of Doki Doki – the “heartbeat” of Luxembourg – runs through the entire visit and resonates not just with the Japanese.

At the end of May, the Grand Duke visited Osaka as part of Luxembourg Day at the Expo. This week, his son, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume, is spending several days in Osaka, accompanied by members of the Luxembourg press. Among them is an RTL team, which visited the Expo a day earlier and reported their first impressions in a piece by Lynn Cruchten.

On Tuesday, the press will accompany Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume on his official visit to Expo 2025. His program also includes a visit to a research center in Kyoto.

Watch the full report in Luxembourgish